Zooey Deschanel Will Star In Wizard Of Oz 'Re-Imagining'

In November, Chris Ullrich brought word of a "re-imagining" of the classic flick, The Wizard of Oz. As he described, instead of a point-by-point remake, the film was going to have its own little twists. The story would revolve around D.G., a girl transported to The Outer Zone -- an area oppressed by dark magic. In the Zone, she faces a challenging journey along with Glitch (missing half his brain), Raw (wolverine-like and courage-less) and Cain (vengeful former cop with a damaged heart). The journey would lead to her facing an evil sorceress, Azkadellia, who has hidden ties to the lost girl.

While I would be inclined to agree with Chris on the potential for suck, the cast is looking decent so far. Fresh from her stint in Weeds and a bunch of upcoming films such as Bridge to Terabithia, Zooey Deschanel has signed on to star as the Dorothy-wannabe, D.G. She's joined by Alan Cumming, whose latest directorial effort, Suffering Man's Charity, is set to screen at SXSW. Cumming will play the half-brainless Glitch. There is no further word on cast, but I'm expecting John C. Reilly to sign on as Raw, and maybe Patrick Swayze to sign on as Cain.

The miniseries is coming at the hands of writing team Steven Long Mitchell and Craig Van Sickle, and this is where things get more interesting. The pair are responsible for episodes of shows like Murder, She Wrote, Alien Nation, The Pretender and most recently, 24. It's definitely not light, kiddie fare, so I imagine that the adaptation will have a lot more darkness. While it might be different enough to be enjoyable, couldn't they have just taken the base idea and come up with new names and a new scenario?